Zero tolerance on skinny genes :: Wessex Scene Online

Zero tolerance on skinny genes

28th October 2006
Lorna Longworth

Rate this story

Mar 07 - Frenzy as ASDA to stock size zero
Feb 07 - Primark’s Best Find
May 09 - Back to the Steroid Type...
Feb 09 - Suits You, Madam
Aug 05 - RAG's Fashion Statement

More by Lorna Longworth

Since the unfortunate death of a model during London Fashion Week there have been calls to regulate the increasing problem of (seriously) underweight runway models. The Madrid Fashion Shows called had restrictions so that models with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 18 would not be allowed to work (‘normal’ is currently 18-22).

In a world where we are as used to using paparazzi photo shoots of stars who have put on a couple of pounds as we are to watch them try to block their gaunt faces with brittle twig-like arms, it is obvious that society as a whole is actually pretty ambivalent to the issue of weight and attractiveness. With former bastions of womanly curves losing large amounts of weight in dangerous crash diets, the implicit view prevalent across the media is that being larger than the smallest size is a socially unacceptable crime. Yet at the same time, the smallest sizes are becoming smaller (does anyone remember when size 6 was mentioned in hushed tones?) with the American size 0 or British size 2 becoming the prize upon which many hungry eyes are fixed. It is confusing what message is being made, for several reasons.

Firstly the BMI index is becoming increasingly less respected as a measure of a person’s health. Despite being used as a guideline by the United Nations and the World Health Organisation the rugby player Jonah Lomu would have a BMI marking him out as obese. The average runway model is 5 foot 9 but weighs 7 stone 12 pounds giving a BMI of 16, whereas models like Lily Cole, Erin O’Connor and Kate Moss all have scores lower than 18 and who, though slender, are not dangerously so and do not appear to be objects of mass concern.

Secondly Dr Helga Dittmar of the Social Health Psychology Research Group at the University of Sussex has discovered that "instead of being admired by women, excessively slender models are regarded as less ethical, knowledgeable and truthful than their larger peers." In fact after being accused of devastating women’s self esteem and suffering eating disorders, the latest charge against models is that they are no good at their job. Dittmar states "thin models are less effective in selling products than average-sized models". In fact skinny women featured in advertisements are more likely to create a negative feeling towards the product, to the detriment of the advertising message.

A spokeswoman from Premier Modelling Agency replied to these charges: "Statistics have repeatedly shown that if you stick a beautiful skinny model on the cover of a magazine you sell more copies."

Perhaps it’s just me but Heat seems to sell purely through unattractive shots of celebrities. I find it hard to believe that women would not buy a magazine/product unless the cover model was skinny. After all some magazines sell on the basis that their cover model is not even famous.